Keeping all the Plates Spinning

15 Critical Regulatory Changes for European Treasurers

Much like the sound of thunder follows a fork of lightning, financial regulation tends to follow a crisis. With European treasurers still adjusting to the post-Covid reality coupled with war in Ukraine, the volume of regulatory updates to understand and implement could be daunting. Fortunately, a new project from the European Association of Corporate Treasurers aims to bring clarity and direction to thinking in this space.

Corporate treasurers are well used to adopting new ways of working in light of changing financial regulations. Which is fortunate because the first half of this year alone has seen an extensive list of rules coming through the pipeline as authorities wrestle with a host of challenges as well as increased digitalisation. Keeping track of myriad new and amended regulations will require plenty of plate spinning.

François Masquelier, Chair, European Association of Corporate Treasurers (EACT), reflects: “After a major crisis, even a health-related event like the pandemic, it is not unusual to see authorities reconsidering the regulations in place – to either strengthen existing rules, if needed, or to issue new regulations. Their goal is to limit the effects or even prevent the next crisis and make the financial system more resistant and resilient. But sometimes these [regulations] can overstep or create unintended consequences. As treasurers, we must ensure that changes, even when justified, do not have too great an impact on our activities and are not disproportionate to the events they intend to correct.”

Gaining clarity

The EACT and its Financial Regulation Advisory Group (FRAG) have recently completed a piece of work that aims to make it easier for treasurers to identify the regulations that will impact their businesses, along with some priority actions for responding to specific rules. The research highlights 15 regulatory changes for corporate treasurers to track this year (see fig. 1 below).

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